Colourette Supramatte: Is It Worth The Hype? | Halloween Limited Collecxn

For the coming weeks, I am planning like to feature local Filipino-owned cosmetic brands and first on my list is a brand close to my hometown – Colourette Cosmetics.

I remember they used to be under the house of Fairness and Flawless back when I was in college. Recently, I noticed that they are now (allegedly) an independent brand. Their claims of pigmentation without compromising the moisture has helped them build a beauty cult in the next few years. I still remember buying my very first Colourstick in the shade of Sahara for Php499. From the classic lip bullets, Colourette has released their very own liquid lipstick range called Supramatte. Last Halloween, they launched their first limited edition Halloween Collecxn in shades Cersei, Ursula, Miranda and Harley.

As my mother being ever so thoughtful and sweet, she bought all the four shades of the Halloween Collecxn from Lazada and sent them to me in Australia. She knows that bold lipsticks have a special place in my vain soul. The Halloween Supramattes are retailed for Php499 (U$9.8, A$13) and can be purchased from their website. However, they do not ship internationall at this moment.

QUICK FACTS: The Supramatte liquid lipstick have a clear and hard, square plastic tube. I love the fact that it is not cylindrical. Makes it easier for them to store and would not roll down off my table. They are infused with Jojoba Oil and Grapeseed Oil for moisture and comfort. The Peppermint Oil gives the product a nice minty smell and feel to it. It has 5g (0.17oz) that costs Php99.8 per gram. Prior to the idea that this is an all-natural product, these lipsticks contain some ingredients that are not. It is not a vegan product, but it has a mix of natural ingredients. Below is the complete list of the ingredients.

According to their website, here are what the products claim to be:

• glides smoothly
• one coat intense pay off
• smudge proof
• 12 hour staying power
• full coverage
• comfort-wear formulation
• no cracking and feathering
• easy precision applicator
• moisturises and nourishes lips

After the wear test, we will see which of claims actually stick with product, so stay tune!

WEAR TEST

I used the four shades as a part of my everyday look in the past week and wear tested them.

DISCLAIMER: I did all the basic prep (exfoliate and moisturise) before wear testing the product. I never had lip fillers (and never will) so I apologize in advance if my lips are looking like a butthole rather than a smooth Instagram lips. Whenever I reapply, I try to remove the existing layer before coating a new one just to give a fair chance. As always, if it worked for me, I do not guarantee that it will be the same to you and vice versa. Just a little reminder: I will get very close. *wink*

CERSEI

FIRST IMPRESSION: From all the four shades, this has the most decent pigment but not as solid as I expect it to be. On the other hand, the colour spreads evenly and is not patchy. It has a dark slate gray colour that is similar with ColourPop’s Ultra Satin Lips Petit Four (Php390, U$6, A$8).

WEAR TEST: I had to reapply thrice. First when I had my lunch of steak and mashed potato, second when I had gelato, and the last when I had corned beef at dinner. It faded away instead of flaking.

THOUGHTS: This lip colour has been on my lips for 8 hours and faded every time I eat, thus, a need to reapply. It went on so smooth and lightweight for the first five hours. After that, I felt my lips tightened and dried.

HARLEY

FIRST IMPRESSION: This lip colour dries slower than the rest. I literally need to suck in air just to dry it faster. Also, it was unimaginably patchy! I needed at least 4-5 coats before I achieved the solid coverage it promised. Even so, there was still uneven spots on the center of my lower lip.

WEAR TEST: I wore this colour when I had a quick run to the supermarket. On my way home, I bought a nice bubble milk tea and to my surprise, there were flakes of Harley on the straw! After 3 hours of wearing it, my lips are feeling extra, extra dry and flakes of Harley formed around my lips. I had samgyupsal (Korean BBQ) for lunch and as expected, it flaked away. I literally ate some bits and pieces of it. Biggest turnoff.

THOUGHTS: I decided not to reapply anymore as this might end up the same on my earlier applications. I am in love with the shade but apparently it has the worst formulation from the four and probably in my entire collection. It flaked big time and formed crumbs on the 5th hour.

URSULA

FIRST IMPRESSION: This deep indigo has a nice pigment but still patchy.  I needed two coats before achieving a full colour coverage. It dried nice and smooth. I just noticed that it seemed to change hue depending on your source of light. Careline Matte Liquid Lipstick (Php210, U$4.2, A$5.5) is the closest dupe in my collection.

WEAR TEST: I had samgyupsal again for lunch and for some reason, it flaked instead of faded. I hate it when the flakes get in my mouth – this did it. I decided to reapply. We had a nice burger at dinner and as I expected, it flaked like crazy.

THOUGHTS: I got a powdery and drying feeling on the fifth hour. The lipstick felt ‘heavy’  and ‘thick’. I am very careful not to press my lips together when I bite on something oily because I know how lipsticks behave. So it was surprising for me when this lip colour flaked easily. It also left a red wine stain on my lips when I removed it before going to bed.

MIRANDA

FIRST IMPRESSION: For a red shade lipstick, I am a bit shock that this is the not the most pigmented in the Halloween Collection. It seemed to have a thinner hue rather than a solid red. Most of the time, red shades are the most pigmented, but not this one. It spreads evenly but it could be patchy at times. I needed two coats before I see a decent coverage.

WEAR TEST: I had some noodles for lunch and it pretty much did not budge for a second. At dinner, I had Sinigang na Baboy (Pork Tamarind Stew) and this is when it faded. Like Cersei, there was no flaking. Sadly, when I was about to remove my makeup at night, noticed some smudging and bleeding on my lower lip.

THOUGHTS: I thought this was the winner from the collection. I was hoping at least one of them would work. But nonetheless, this has better staying power than the rest and is the most wearable shade. I almost never needed reapplication with this. Vice Phenomenal Lip Kit in Girly (Php295, U$5.8, A$7.7) is the closest I have in my collection that can be a dupe.

DUPES

Here are the closest dupes for Colourette’s Halloween Collecxn that I can find in my own 60+ lipstick collection. Some of them are not an exact dupe because of different undertones, but it can get by. Due to Harley’s unusual shade, I was not able to find a dupe for it.

♦♦♦

THE BEST… In all honestly, they stayed true to their claim of being lightweight but up to a certain amount of hours only.  I love it when a local Filipino-owned brand is gradually growing. The shades they offer are perfect for Pinays of different skin tone. I appreciate that they also released some unique colours like these so as Pinoy makeup lovers can experiment with different looks. The nice peppermint whiff gives a refreshing feeling while you are applying it. Often times, they do some giveaways on their Facebook and has monthly deals.

The Supramatte can be easily removed using an oil-based cleanser. I would dab plenty of the my Garnier Micellar Oil-infused Cleansing Water on a cotton pad. Then, I hold it against my lips for a few seconds before wiping it off. Works like magic.

THE WORST… If you are reading since the beginning, it is expected that this section is longer than usual. My biggest concern with these products are their lasting effect. It is advertised, claimed and repeatedly promoted that their Supramattes last longer than your usual matte liquid lipstick, specifically for 12 hours. I am very surprised that their dark shades are not as solid and pigmented as they always pointed out.

My second concern is their chunky doe foot. It is unusually fuzzier than the usual doe foot applicators. This gives me a feeling that I might smear or ruin the outline and edges of my lips because I do not know if the applicator is touching that specific point or not.

Third is their gel-like consistency rather than the usual runny liquid lipstick. With their fuzzy doe foot and thick formulation, I find myself “dragging” the applicator across my lips instead of “smoothly gliding” it. By the nature of their doe foot, it seems that it absorbs more product than it gives out. Just check the image below.

I also noticed that it has a powdery feeling on the first fifteen minutes which I am not really a fan of. It gives me the same feeling when I tried a fake makeup way, way before.

Another thing I looked into is how active their customer service is. One of the things I liked about Colourette was their friendly and responsive customer care. This was when the company was smaller. Sadly, as their brand gradually reaches the top, so is their customer service flunked so low. I do not want to sound like those typical customer who thinks I have everybody on my paycheck. For the last two months, I have been contacting them (Facebook, Instagram and email), asking item queries and clarifications, but all I received were automated messages that they would get back to me within 72 hours – Spoiler Alert: NEVER HAPPENED.

This is not the first time cosmetic companies flunked on reaching their claims. I do not blame them. Marketing goes a long way and superficial claims can get you an express to the top. I do not mind paying a lot as long as I get what they are really selling.

SO… For a regular working Pinay who earns the minimum, the P499 for the Supramattes and P699 for the Liq Lacquer is definitely pricey. There are bigger brands that are cheaper, have same pigment payoff and actually does what it claims to do. In the Philippines, with the price it offers, we expect that it will do at least half of what it promised.

Is P499 really worth it? The only edge that I experienced with Colourette Supramatte is its lightweight and moisturising feeling on the first few hours. It eventually wears off after an average of four hours. After that, your lips tightens and dries. So let us take a look which of their claims actually happened:

1. glides smoothly – FEELS THICK AS A GLUE
2. one coat intense pay off – NEVER HAPPENED. NEEDED AT LEAST TWO. SUPER PATCHY.
3. smudge proof – AT SOME POINT
4. 12-hour staying power – ONLY IF YOU AIN’T GONNA EAT AND TALK FOR 12HRS
5. full coverage – HECK NO
6. comfort-wear formulation – FIRST FEW HOURS
7. no cracking and feathering – DEBATABLE
8. easy precision applicator – HARDLY
9. moisturises and nourishes lips – FIRST 4 HOURS ONLY

Their target consumers are the modern Filipinas. I hate to break the news but nowadays many modern Pinays still earn the minimum. As the saying goes, money does not grow on trees and we expect that every cent we spent is worth it.

As much as I do not want to assume, their Halloween Supramatte and Xtra Nudes Supramatte have the same ingredients. Thus, it gives me a bad feeling that it will perform the same. In most rule books and in my experience, if the bolder shades cannot take the heat, how will it be for their lighter shades?

 

Image from The Renegade Girl

 

SHOULD YOU BOTHER? If you are somebody who would like to support a local brand, has some extra budget and willing to be ripped off, maybe you could give it a try. I personally do not see myself buying these full price. There are other Filipino-owned cosmetic brands that are better which I will be featuring in the coming weeks.

These are my honest opinion. This clearly did not work for me. I wished it did. I deeply wished it did.

 

Stay solid,

B♥

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